Scanning for Ideas: Fast and Furious Deburring

Parts with internal burrs and whiskers can drive up rejection rates. So to get rid of burrs, engineers at Earth-Chain, Indianapolis (earthchain.com), developed the sPINner, a batch deburrer for relatively small drilled, threaded, machined, and stamped parts. It will handle deburring without damaging the finish or altering part dimensions. Parts are also demagnetized when the 20-min process is over.

The device works by rotating a circular magnet beneath a bin full of stainlesssteel pins mixed with a deburring solution. This gets the pins spinning rapidly, creating a deburring action. The device works best on small, precision parts made of nonferrous metals such as aluminum, brass, copper, stainless steel, and titanium. The device comes in three sizes with tanks going from 6 × 6 in. and 35 lb to 21 × 23 in. weighing 385 lb. The steel pins also come in a variety of sizes to handle different tasks. For example, to debur small holes, the company recommends pins 3-mm long and larger pins for harder materials. The company also provides the deburring solution.